Game apparatus.



No. 810,781. PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906. R. D. MARTIN.

GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.8. 1905.

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ATTORNEYS No. 810,781. PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906' R. D. MARTIN. GAMEAPPARATUS.

A APPLICATION FILED MAR.8. 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 BY M ATTORNEYS RALPH DIXON MARTIN, OF TAMPA, FLORIDA.

GAME APPARATUS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1906.

Application filed March 8, 1905. Serial No. 248,959.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH DIXON MARTIN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Tampa, in the county of Hillsboro and State ofFlorida, have invented a new and Improved Game Apparatus, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved gameapparatus which is simple and durable in construction, not liable toeasily get out of order, and arranged to afford amusement to the playersand to require considerable skill on the part of the players tosuccessfully play the game.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations ofthe same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointedout in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 1s a plan view of the improvement. Fig.2 is a side elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the weightand the cord attached thereto. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of thecord and the pivot on which the end of the cord is fastened.

ig. 5 is a perspective view of the mallet used in playing the game. Fig.6 is a plan view of a modified form of the improvement. Fig. 7 is a sideelevation of thesame, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional side elevationof the center portion of the same.

The game apparatus consists, essentially,

' of a board A, preferably of circular form and provided in its middlewith a pivot or post B, on which is secured one end of a cord, cable, orlike flexible connection C, carrying at its outer end a body preferablyin the form of a disk D, made of hard wood, metal, or other material andadapted to travel over the surface of the boardA when propelled eitherby the finger of the player or by the use of a mallet E in the hands ofthe player. The upper end B of the post or pivot B is preferably slottedin the form of a cross for receiving the end of the cord C. Delineatedon the surface of the board A are a number of stations F, separatedasuitable distance from each other and located in a spiral G having itscenter in the axis of the pivot B, the distance between the adjacentconvolutions of thes iral corresponding to the circumference of t epivotB. The cord C is so arranged that its diskD is central over thespiral G, and consequently when the disk D is propelled by striking thesame tangentially to the spiral G then the said disk follows the spiralGthat is, the cord C winds up or unwinds on or from the pivot B,according to the direction in which the disk D is propelled by theplayer. The stations F are preferably spaced unequal distances apart,

the innermost station being at the end of the spiral, while thestarting-point is at G at the guter end of the spiral, as plainlyindicated in In playing the game the cord C is unwound from the pivot B,so that the disk D can be placed on the starting-point G, the cord 0then being in a taut position and extending in an inclined directionupwardly and inwardly from the disk D to the post B, as will be readilyunderstood by reference to Fig. 1.

The player now propels the disk D in the" spiral G, the object being topropel the disk, making it travel from the starting-point G to the firststation on the spiral G, and after this is done to give the disk Danother impulse to take it to the next following station, and so onuntil the last station on the inner. end of the spiral G is reached.When this has been done, the player propels the disk D in the oppositedirection with a view to make successively the several stations duringthe outward travel of the disk D on the spiral G. The player whoaccomplishes the above result with the least number of strokes given tothe disk D is the successful player, it being understood that a numberof players may successively play the game in the manner above described.

In the modified form illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 use is made of thesame board A and ivot B; but in addition to the spiral G the face of theboard A is provided near its outer portion with a circle II concentricto the pivot B, and on this circle H are arranged a number of stationsI, (said circle H and stations I being also shown in Fig. 1,) placedequidistant apart, one of the stations, as shown the station I, beingthe starting-eta tion, and some of the stations, such as I be ing blankstations, while the remaining sta tions I are numbered, say, from 1 to12 in the manner indicated in Fig. 6. In this case two cords C and C areemployed, carrying at their outer ends disks D and D and each beingprovided at its inner end with a ring C slipped over the post B, so thaton propelling the disk D or D in a tangential direction relative to thecircle H the said disk is caused to travel centrally over the cirnowpropels the disk D from the station I in the direction of the arrow 6with a view to make the station I numbered 1, and if successful thisplayer again strikes the disk D to send the same to the station I markedwith the numeral 2, and if successful in this this player is allowed toplay on the disk D belonging to the opponent, and if this disk is struckit entitles the player to a roquet. To make a roquet, the disk D isplaced against the disk D of the opponent and the disk D is pressed downfirmly with the thumb and the player strikes the disk D with the mallet,thus causing the opponents disk D to slide to any part of the circle Hthe player may choose. The roquet may also be done by striking the disksD and D without holding one down with the thumb, so as to drive bothdisks around the circle at the same time. The game is thus continueduntil the player fails to score or make an error, in either of whichcases the opponent takes his turn and plays in the same manner as abovedescribed in respect to the first player. The game is won by the partyfirst completing the twelve stations in the circle H. To make the gamemore interesting, the blank or four colored stations I and I areprovided, so that in case a disk D or D stops at such a station it meansthe forfeit of a point.

Although I have described two ways of playing the game, it is evidentthat the apparatus may be used for playing other games, or games may bevaried to suit the players without deviating from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A game apparatus comprising a board having stationsarranged in a spiral line on the surface of the board, a pivot on thesaid board, central to the said spiral line, a cord secured at one endon the said pivot and adapted to wind and unwind on and from the saidpivot, and a disk on the outer end of the said cord, adapted to bepropelled by the player over the boards surface.

2. A game apparatus comprising a board having stations arranged in aspiral line on the surface of the board, a pivot on the said board,central to the said spiral line, a cord secured at one end on the saidpivot and adapted to wind on the said pivot in a downward direction andto unwind from the pivot in an upward direction, and a disk on the outerend of the said cord, adapted to be propelled by the player over theboards surface.

3. A game apparatus comprising a board having stations arranged in aspiral line on the surface of the board, a pivot on the said board,central to the said spiral line, a cord secured at one end on the saidpivot and adapted to wind and unwind on and from the said pivot, and adisk on the outer end of the said cord, adapted to be propelled by theplayer over the boards surface, the said disk following the said spiralline.

4. A game apparatus comprising a board provided on its surface withstations arranged in a spiral, a pivot secured on the board and risingfrom the surface centrally to the said spiral, the circumference of thepivot corresponding to the distance between adjacent convolutions of thesaid spiral, a cord secured at one end to the upper portion of the saidpivot, and a disk on the outer end of the said cord, adapted to bepropelled over the boards surface, to cause the cord to wind up orunwind on or from the said pivot.

5. A game apparatus comprising a board provided on its surface withstations arranged in a spiral, a pivot secured on the board and risingfrom the surface centrally to the said spiral, the circumference of thepivot corresponding to the distance between adj acent convolutions ofthe said spiral, a cord secured at one end to the upper portion of thesaid pivot, and a disk on the outer end of the said cord, adapted to bepropelled over the boards surface, to cause the cord to wind up

